Friday, April 13, 2012

The images in this post all come from Columbia University's very large assortment of commercial stationery (featuring architectural illustrations): the Biggert Collection.

The vast majority of the images below have been cropped, cleaned and variously doctored for display purposes, with an intent towards highlighting the range of letterform/font and design layouts. The underlying documents are invoices (most), letters, postcards, shipping records and related business and advertising letterhead ephemera from the mid-1800s to the 1930s.

I regret exceedingly to report that my wife has a very painful carbuncle on the side of her head, which is very stubborn, and no doubt it will detain us here until Wedensday or Thursday morning. We had made every arrangement to leave Phila. to-morrow at 8.20am.

The writer will wire you on Wednesday next, or sooner, when you may expect us. As we have said before we are looking forward to enjoying your lovely resort but it would be most imprudent to leave home as conditions are at the present time.

"The Robert Biggert Collection of Architectural Vignettes on Commercial Stationery was donated to the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library by Robert Biggert in honor of Lisa Ann Riveaux. This unique collection of printed ephemera contains over 1,300 items with architectural imagery spanning the dates 1850 to 1920, in more than 350 cities and towns in forty-five states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. possessions. The collection's billheads, letterheads, envelopes, checks, and business cards document the rise of the United States as an industrial nation, in often elaborate vignettes of factories, warehouses, mines, offices, stores, banks, and hotels."

The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University (hosts of the collection) also link to a lengthy article (from the mid-1990s I think) by the collector himself: [pdf warning-->] 'Architectural Vignettes on Commercial Stationery', by Robert Biggert IN: Ephemera Journal [Volume VIII]. Well worth a read.

8 comments
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I miss this kind of headmasting to stationery. It was a gentler time, and the detail of the header printing made artwork of the letter you received. Some of these are pure works of art by the printer and engraver. Truly works of art. No one does this kind of thing any more. It's almost a completely lost art.

I guess the modern world is more geared towards smart logo symbolism than artistic aesthetics. In some senses, loss of a lot of the everyday commercial paper ephemera makes some of these design-y typeform skill less of a core role in business.

It's interesting how, back in the day, all the businesses got aboard the idea that gravitas was to be conveyed by showing or advertising the 'hardware' of the company: be it building, fruit or cow. It projects solidity and strength and perhaps conservatism (they're not a fly-by-night firm).

I worked for a big company in the city years ago and I thought they were daft in renting rather than buying our 30 storey building. Some of that physical and touchable wealth and worth still projects a feeling of safe, longlasting presence.

I think the majority of these works were produced by lithographic printing.

At least, I *think* that's the process for the majority from before 1900, but I could be wrong : mass flyer/stationery printing may have had a different set of needs versus book illustrations; and lithography really took off in the US in the 2nd half of 1800s for books and music sheets for example.

It seems to me that the Manchester Beef Company really missed an opportunity by failing to show the cow (bull?) in evening dress and answering the telephone. On the other hand, some would argue that that would have undermined the gravitas of the image. (Which could have been restored by a suitable smoke-billowing factory directly behind the animal...)